Tipsheet

Illegal Immigration Major Economic Issue

Children of illegal immigrants are costing counties and states millions, even billions of dollars each year, yet many people refuse to look at the issue as a negative economic factor.

This year alone in L.A. County, children of illegal immigrants cost taxpayers $600 million. That's just on the local level and doesn't even include the cost of their parents or costs to the education system.

This isn't surprising considering illegal immigrants don't pay taxes yet use emergency rooms, our education system and pull from our welfare systems free of charge, forcing U.S. citizens to pick up the tab. 

From FoxNews:

Welfare benefits for the children of illegal immigrants cost America's largest county more than $600 million last year, according to a local official keeping tabs on the cost. 

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich released new statistics this week showing social spending for those families in his county rose to $53 million in November, putting the county government on track to spend more than $600 million on related costs for the year -- up from $570 million in 2009. 

Antonovich arrived at the estimate by factoring in the cost of food stamps and welfare-style benefits through a state program known as CalWORKS. Combined with public safety costs and health care costs, the official claimed the "total cost for illegal immigrants to county taxpayers" was more than $1.6 billion in 2010. 

"Not including the hundreds of millions of dollars for education," he said in a statement.